Bangor, Maine - Accidents, Natural Disasters and Infamous Incidents

Accidents, Natural Disasters and Infamous Incidents

The Great Fire of 1911 was Bangor’s most spectacular catastrophe, but other natural disasters and accidents have occurred there, often with greater loss of life (only two were killed in the Great Fire). The most recurrent problem, besides fire, was the formation of ice dams causing spring floods on the Penobscot River, a situation that's resolved itself with warmer winters. The only destructive flood since the 1930s (in 1976) was caused by a storm at sea. Notable incidents include:

1832: A cholera epidemic in St. John, New Brunswick (part of the Second cholera pandemic) sent as many as 800 poor Irish immigrants walking to Bangor. This was the beginning of Maine's first substantial Irish-Catholic community. Competition with yankees for jobs would cause a riot and resulting fire in 1833.

1846: The “Great Freshet”, or spring flood, was the most destructive of the 19th century, carrying away the Penobscot River covered bridge, two bridges over the Kenduskeag Stream, and inundating a hundred shops and many houses. Its cause was the sudden release of a massive, 4-mile-long ice dam. There were no casualties.

1849–50: The Second cholera pandemic reached Bangor itself, killing 20–30 within the first week. 112 had died by Oct, 1849

1854: The schooner Manhattan of Bangor was lost in a gale off New Jersey. There was a single survivor.

1856: A large fire destroyed at least 10 downtown businesses and 8 houses, as well as the sherriff's office.

1856: The brig William H. Safford of Bangor was cut through by ice while anchored in the East River at New York, and 8 of 10 aboard drown, including the captain, his wife, and 2 children.

1858: The floor of an auction store in Bangor gave way, sending 200 men, women, and children into the building's cellar. Many were injured but none killed.

1860: The brig Mary Pierce, sailing with lumber from Bangor to New Haven, was lost in a storm off Cape Cod with 6 crew and a child. One sailor survived.

1860: The brig H.N. Jenkins of Bangor, bound for Havana, Cuba, was demasted in a storm and the captain the 3 crew killed. 2 were rescued by a passing whaler.

1869: The West Market Square fire, from which arose The Phoenix Block (the present Charles Inn). The fire destroyed 10 business blocks and cut off telegraphic communication

1869: The Black Island Railroad Bridge north of Old Town, Maine collapsed under the weight of a Bangor and Piscataquis Railroad train, killing 3 crew and injuring 7–8 others.

1869: The schooners Susan Duncan and Susan Hicks of Bangor, both carrying lumber, were lost with all hands in a storm off Cape Cod.

1871: A bridge in Hampden collapsed under the weight of a Maine Central Railroad train approaching Bangor, killing 2 and injuring 50.

1872: Another large downtown fire, on Main St., killed 1 and injured 7. The Adams-Pickering Block (architect George W. Orff) replaced the burned section.

1872: A smallpox epidemic closed local schools.

1882: A tornado blew the steeple off the Universalist Church, the roof off the County Courthouse, and sent hundreds of chimneys into the street.

1889: Forest fires in surrounding towns enveloped Bangor in smoke.

1892: Another tornado overturned the launch Annie in the Penobscot River drowning 8 passengers.

1895: Another Penobscot flood

1896: The barkentine Thomas J. Stewart of Bangor was lost at sea in a hurricane with all hands (11 men) somewhere between New York and Boston The ship was named after one of Bangor's principle entrepreneurs, the owner of a large fleet of ocean-going vessels.

1898: A Maine Central Railroad train crashed near Orono killing 2 and fatally injuring 4. The president of the railroad and his wife were also on board in a private car, but escaped injury. Train Wrecked in Maine

1898: The steamer Pentagoet of the Manhattan Line was lost in a gale between New York City and Bangor with all 16 hands. In the same storm, two schooners sailing from Bangor to Fall River, Massachusetts loaded with lumber, the William Slater and Oriole were similarly lost with no survivors.

1899: The collapse of a gangway between a train and a waiting ferry at Mount Desert sent 200 members of a Bangor excursion party into the water, drowning 20.

1900: The schooner Ada Herbert sailing from Gloucester, Massachusetts to Bangor was lost with all four crew.

1901: A powerful storm caused the Penobscot to flood, carrying 8,000 logs from Bangor into Penobscot Bay, where they menaced shipping.

1902: Another great spring flood, caused by an ice dam, detached the middle section of the Penobscot River railroad bridge from its foundations and sent it crashing through the wooden covered pedestrian bridge down-stream, cutting all connections with Brewer.

1903: The Bangor-based schooner Willie L. Newton turned turtle (upside down) in a storm off Connecticut, with loss of all hands (7 men).

1907: The sloop Ruth E. Cummack capsized in Penobscot Bay, drowning 6 young men, 5 of them from Bangor.

1908: Forest fires burned in surrounding towns. 1,000 men fought them within a 35-mile radius of Bangor.

1908: Bangor's first automobile accident claimed the life of 10-year-old Freddie O'Conner, who ran in front of a chauffer-driven Pope Hartford which was running down State Street without its lights at dusk.

1911: The Great Fire of 1911

1911: A head-on collision of two trains north of Bangor, in Grindstone, killed 15, including 5 members of the Presque Isle Brass Band.

1911: In Bangor's first automobile accident fatal to the driver, artist Emma Webb was killed and her two passengers injured in a collision with an electric street-railroad car.

1914: The Bangor Opera House burned down, and two firemen were killed by a collapsing wall. A third was badly injured, and three others less seriously.

1918: The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, which was global in scope, struck over a thousand Bangoreans and killed more than a hundred. This was the worst 'natural disaster' in the city's history.

1923: The Penobscot flooded again.

1928: Tiger-tamer Mabel Stark while performing in the John Robinson Circus in Bangor, was attacked by two of her tigers and severely mauled in front of a large crowd. She survived, and went on to survive 17 more tiger attacks, though none as bad as the one in Bangor.

1936: For the last time, an ice dam on the Penobscot caused serious flooding in Bangor.

1937: Al Brady, a armed robber and murderer is shot dead in a shoot out with his accomplice, ending The Brady Gang

1938: A short earthquake on August 22 broke glass and crockery across the city, and cut telephone service in some areas for 15–20 minutes. It was felt more strongly in Brewer.

1939: A truck carrying dynamite from Bangor through Holden, Maine was blown to bits, killing 6.

1941: First fatal crash of a military aircraft in Maine, when a B-18 Bolo Bomber stationed at Bangor Army Airfield went down in nearby Springfield, Maine, killing all 4 crew. Between 1941 and 1971, there would be 14 additional fatal crashes of military aircraft based in Bangor, 3 within city limits and the rest in small towns or wilderness areas between the north woods and the coast.

1947: A fire in the municipal power station caused a city-wide electrical blackout

1976: A coastal Northeaster, known as The Groundhog Day gale of 1976 caused a surge up the Penobscot River, resulting in a flash flood downtown which covered 200 cars and closed both bridges to Brewer. No one was injured but it caused $2 million in property damage.

1984: The 740 ft. tall WVII TV antenna and 550 ft. tall WABI-TV antenna both collapsed under ice, knocking seven TV and radio stations off the air.

1984: Charlie Howard was thrown from a bridge and murdered for being gay.

1998: The North American Ice Storm of 1998. Bangor was among a few metropolitan areas in the United States affected by this freakish storm, which was a major natural disaster for Canada. Electricity was knocked out for more than a week in some areas as all trees, utility poles, and other objects were coated with a glistening layer of ice.